Page 30 of No Way Home
“Pshaw.” He huffed. “You calling me old?”
I clicked my tongue. “If the shoe fits.”
“I can still toss you over my knee and tan your backside,” he tried to sound tough. But Gramps was the softest softy here.
“You’ve never thrown me over your knee a day in your life.” I snorted. “Or any of us. You’re too nice for that.”
“But I could.” He laughed. “In theory. Don’t sass me, boy. I’ll take my name back. We’ll get Holden started on the paperwork today.”
“All right, all right. I concede.”
He put his arm around my neck, essentially a headlock. “Proud to share my name with you,” he said, voice warm. “You know that.”
I grinned. “I do.”
Uncle Holden stepped into the center of the group and rubbed his hands together, a devious look in his eye. “It’s time to draw for partners.”
Um, what?Drawfor partners?
“Whoa,” Griffin said, “No one said we didn’t get to pick our partners.” He gestured at Maggie, like it was a no-brainer. She didn’t speak, just stood there awkwardly, green eyes wide as everyone looked at her.
“It has to be by chance,” Uncle Ford said. “That’s the only way to make it fair.”
“But…but…” Griffin did an exaggerated flourish around Maggie’s face. “I promised her we would do the race together.”
“Go cry in a corner,” I muttered.
“Come on, now,” Gramps chided. “Play nice.”
“I honestly can’t. He’s such a whiner. I’ve been home from school for two weeks, and all I’ve heard is ‘Maggie this and Maggie that. Maggie, Maggie,Maggie.’ The dude talksabout her in his sleep. Literally. Like, get an identity outside of your girlfriend, for the love.”
Gramps laughed quietly. “You know, you sound a little jealous.”
Was it even hotter than a few seconds ago?
I scoffed. “Not hardly.”
Griff threw his hands up. “I’ve been hyping her up?—”
“If we make an exception for you,” my older sister Anna declared. “We have to make one for everybody.”
When Anna’s mom, my dad’s twin sister, Sophie, passed away, my parents adopted her. By blood, Anna was my cousin. But in every way that mattered, she was my sister. And in that moment, I’d never been more proud to call her mine.
“Anna’s my favorite,” I called.
She blew me a kiss.
Griffin’s face twisted into a grimace, but he inhaled and forced himself to relax. “Okay. Fine. Maggie and I are out,” he said like he’d just done us a great disservice.
“Your loss,” I said. “Gives the rest of us a better shot.”
Maggie huffed at Griff. “Speak for yourself. I’m winning that money. Sorry, babe.”
Babe? We were at cutesy nickname level already? Everyone else laughed but I couldn’t. This was going to be the summer from Hades. So I frowned.
Griffin frowned too. So I flipped mine to a smile.
Holden clapped his hands together. “All right. We settled?” When no one protested, he gestured at his wife. “Chris. Take it away.”
